Disasters and Humanitarian Response Special Interest Group
The Disasters & Humanitarian Response SIG was established in 2023 to be a proactive and reactive group providing evidence-based expertise and guidance in emergency settings. The SIG will disseminate information to disaster settings and promote equitable public health measures for implementation where possible. Collaborating with medical and Public Health responders on the ground, including UK-Med, MSF and the UK-PHRST, would enable this SIG to act as an important knowledge hub that can be utilised in future disaster responses.
The workplans are intended to be structured around the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction focusing on the four priorities:
- Understanding disaster risk,
- Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk,
- Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience, and,
- Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
The SIG aims to build sustainability into its work by providing transferable guidance and resources from these key priorities that can be rapidly adapted to serve a wide range of disaster events requiring urgent humanitarian action. This SIG will support the Sendai Framework Focal Point in the Cabinet Office in addition to working with humanitarian response teams in the WHO and UN.
Contact
The Disasters & Humanitarian Response SIG reports to the Global Health Committee (GHC) and is chaired by Kanza Ahmed. If you would like to join the SIG, please send a completed SIG application form to Kanza.Ahmed@ukhsa.gov.uk.
Please note that in order to join any SIG you must be a member of the Faculty of Public Health. Please see further information on joining FPH SIGs here.